Injectable hydrogels for growth factor and stem cell delivery in tissue engineering

摘要

Injectable hydrogels are attractive candidates in minimally invasive tissue engineering therapies for complex tissue defects. This versatile class of materials provides a highly hydrated matrix formulated as an aqueous solution that can be injected into large defects to fill complex shapes, locally deliver stem cells and growth factors, and remodel into native tissue. Physically and chemically dual-gelling modular hydrogel systems were fabricated by combining thermosensitive polymers with custom crosslinking molecules in order to yield hydrolytically and enzymatically degradable hydrogels. Injectable and biodegradable fumarate-based hydrogels were also investigated as vehicles for tissue engineering applications involving stem cell encapsulation and the controlled delivery of multiple growth factors. In vitro and in vivo results indicate that the development of such injectable hydrogel systems provides a promising method for minimally invasive and localized delivery of stem cells and growth factors for craniofacial bone and osteochondral tissue regeneration.